English Touring Opera soloists provide an evening of Russian Romance for the Honiton Festival Opera Gala

English Touring Opera in the 2007 production of Eugene Onegin. Photo by Keith Pattison

Now an established annual highlight in East Devon’s classical music calendar, this year’s Honiton Festival Opera Gala promises to bring a dash of Russian romance to a fresh spring evening.

Four soloists from the English Touring Opera will perform arias by Tchaikovsky and his compatriots. The programme includes excerpts from The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin; Tatyana’s famous Letter Aria, Onegin’s Aria, and Lensky’s Kuda Kuda (How Far Away You Seem Now).

Eugene Onegin is a powerful, nostalgic opera about youth, and the effect of youthful decisions. First love, lost love, jealousy, regret – all are there. With heartfelt arias heightened by Tchaikovsky’s melody, rich orchestration and drama, Eugene Onegin is the opera for romantics of all ages.